


Fetch the Candles

by Clocksmith



Category: Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Gen, Tribute to Satoru Iwata
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-15
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-04-09 12:51:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4349525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clocksmith/pseuds/Clocksmith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All across the worlds, in many different lifetimes, people are feeling sad; they feel they have lost something important. </p><p>A tribute to Satoru Iwata.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fetch the Candles

**Author's Note:**

> While this does not take place within the world of Smash Brothers, I felt there was nowhere else that all the characters present here could be neatly brought together.

Zelda sat quietly at her desk. The forms and political agreements she was meant to oversee seemed wholly unimportant to her. Words and symbols and letters and ink melded together until it became an unrecognisable assortment of shapes and black.

Yet, she searched them anyway. She peered into the muddied scriptures in the hopes that they would remind her why she was feeling the way she was.

She wasn’t even sure how she felt, not really. All she knew was that something was wrong. Something fuzzy and misremembered at the back of her mind. It was numb and grey and just…there. It was there with no clue as to why it was.

It was almost as if there was something she was meant to know – meant to _feel_ with every mortal fibre of her being – but she just didn’t know what it was. It was a faceless emotion drifting amidst a never-ending crowd of memories and information.

“What are you,” she mumbled. No one was there to hear her, but perhaps the world was listening. Maybe the winds would shift and motivate her memory.

Or maybe it wasn’t in her memory at all.

Her right hand was warm with something she couldn’t even begin to put into words. It was something otherworldly and higher than anything she knew. It was _alien_ and beyond her, yet there all the same.

It was comforting, in a way. Like a mother holding their child’s hand through a high wind and storm. Yet it brought her no closer to deciphering this murky fog shifting through her mind.

Yet…the Triforce was there for her. It was comforting; a gentle, reassuring warmth to fend away the cold white mist.

Why?

Then there was a knock at her door. She rose to answer, only for the Chosen Hero to wander in on his own accord. A strange action, she thought; Link was always one to knock. Even for others, but to her, _his_ Queen, he was especially polite.

“Zelda,” he said as he came forward. “Something’s wrong.” He pulled up his left hand, flexing it in the air. “I…I feel something. I don’t know what, but I-”

“I feel it, too,” she swiftly interjected. She pulled up her right hand. “I feel there is something we have forgotten. Something important.”

Link nodded, albeit with an unsure frown on his lips. “It’s inside my head, too. In my _heart_ ; we…it’s like I’ve lost something. It’s not forgotten, or missing. It’s gone.”

Zelda pondered that. The greyness was shifting in the back of her mind and, finally, it felt like something she could relate. It _was_ like something was gone, not simply forgotten. She felt heat burn behind her eyes. Her head began to sting at the memories that grey feeling was dredging up from the past.

It wasn’t that long ago, in retrospect. But the pain was still there as if it had never left.

“When my Father died,” she eventually said, resolute. It was so clear. How hadn’t she realised it before? “That’s what I’m feeling. We’ve…we’ve lost something. _Someone_.”

Link looked to the palm of his hand. An ethereal glow rose from beneath his skin, golden and bright. It never truly came to the surface, but he could see it. The Triforce was coating his hand in something almighty warmth.

The Triforce knew something was wrong. It knew someone important was gone.

Even if Zelda and Link couldn’t fathom who.

“Who?” Link found himself asking. “Someone important?”

Zelda couldn’t say for sure, but…no. Before she wasn’t sure, but now? Now she knew. Someone important to them was gone. Whether they knew not who or why was unimportant. Someone was gone and the world was telling them.

The Gods were telling them.

“Squire!” Zelda wailed. Her voice had cracked, though she didn’t know who it was for. All she knew was that, whoever they were, the Gods had deemed them worthy. She deemed them worthy.

One of her many servants entered through the door. Link hadn’t even closed it; another careless action on his part. So unlike him.

“Yes, your Majesty?”

“Fetch us some candles,” she ordered. “Fetch us some candles and have the flags at half mast; we are in mourning.”

The squire’s eyes widened. “F-for whom?”

“We do not know,” Link quickly answered.

“But whoever they were, they were important. We can feel it.” Zelda stared back at her hand one last time before easing a sigh from her lips. “And they deserve our respect.”

 

\- - - -

 

Princess Peach sat quietly within her gardens, thinking. She stared into her latest cup of tea, wondering how long it had truly been since the warm liquid had grown tasteless and cold. Her cookies had gone by equally uneaten.

It was a shame. Yet, she couldn’t escape this feeling of emptiness inside of her. As if she’d just lost something important.

“Princess!”

Her process broke; she turned to see Toadsworth scurrying towards her from the main garden gates. She rose to greet him, but found the process slow. It tired her out so.

“Hello, Toadsworth,” she said, feigning a smile. “Is something the matter?”

The poor thing could barely get a word out between his breaths. He took several huge swallows of air and, with the pose befitting his station, straightened his glasses and began his speech anew.

It was rather unfortunate, then, that his composure promptly vanished the moment he opened his mouth.

“It’s Bowser, your Majesty!” he screeched. “He’s here! At the castle!”

Peach felt her insides tighten. She didn’t need this right now. She didn’t know what was wrong – or why she even felt the way she did – but she did not need any Koopa-fueled capers getting in her way. Today. She wanted time to…to-

“Call up the Brothers,” she commanded, almost as if by instinct. At this point it probably was. How many times had she requested their help in the years gone by? She didn’t dare to ask. “Prepare our-“

“N-no! No, no no no, you don’t understand. Bowser is _here_ at the castle!” Toadsworth repeated. “He’s not _doing_ anything. He’s just…here.”

That made Peach stop. It took her a moment to even process the idea. What business would Bowser have with _her_?

When had they ever had _business_ together?

She wanted to ask Toadsworth, or move to wherever the King of the Koopa’s was, but she needn’t have even considered it. The was a heavy thud against stone before it joined her within the gardens. She turned to see Bowser making his way towards her, something akin to feat written into his maw.

Stranger still, Mario and Luigi were not far behind him. The two of them just looked downright weak. Each step seemed too long for them to take.

“Hey, Peachy,” Bowser called. His voice was rough as ever, barely above a roar and nothing close to practised speech. But it wasn’t fiery or confident. It seemed strained. “I met these two morons on the road here. Gave them a lift and everything.”

Mario was already moving in beside the King, nodding his head.

“Got a feeling this morning,” Bowser continued. “Like a headache but it sucked a whole lot more, ya know? Felt like my Mother died or something, I dunno. Kamek was feelin’ the same thing. So were the kids.”

Peach furrowed her brow, and then watched as Luigi pulled his brother into a loose hug and motioned towards them both with his thumb. Mario didn’t even shift his gaze from the ground; the grass swaying gently in the midmorning breeze seemed to have more of his attention than anything else.

“Yeah, these two...they felt the same thing,” Bowser explained. He didn’t even insult them this time. Not even a little passive aggressiveness. Something was _very_ wrong, Peach thought. It suddenly felt a whole lot colder in the gardens.

“We, uh-” He rubbed thick, red hair at the back of his head. “...Kamek suggested seein’ you guys. He thought something was up; something _big_. Guess he was right, huh?”

The big brute tried laughing, but it didn’t even get past his teeth, let alone out into the open. It died and slithered back down into his throat.

Toadsworth seemed just as keen to inspect the grass as Mario, though he eventually found hid time to speak. “I think he’s right, Princess. I’ve felt rather down all day. It isn’t my place to look salty on the job but…yes. I believe there might be something wrong.”

“We’re all just sad,” Peach said, not entirely sure who she was speaking to. “We’re all sad and we…we don’t know why?”

Everyone slowly nodded. Luigi confirmed as much to the group.

“Like someone died?” Bowser asked in reply, to which the taller of the two brothers nodded. “You feel that too, huh? Roy and Jr. were saying that, too.”

“Like something important is gone,” Peach finished.“Someone…important.”

The feeling felt thick in her head, choking it in bitter syrup. But that was it, she told herself; it _was_ like someone was gone. Someone important was gone and they were all feeling it.

Even…even if they didn’t know who that person was.

“What should we do, Princess?” Toadsworth asked.

“Yeah,” Bowser added. “You got a cream for this, or something?"

Peach didn’t reply right away. She caught a brief glimpse of tears rolling down Mario’s cheeks and that was all there was to it before she felt hot streams flow against her own skin. So, being the perfectly poised princess that she was, Peach took in a deep breath and clapped her hands.

A small selection of Toads wandered sombrely towards her.

“Be a lovely bunch and fetch us some candles, would you?” she asked. They all looked wearily to Bowser before Peach added, “Yes, for _all_ of us. I think we need to hold a service.”

“A service?” Bowser asked.” A service for who?”

“I...I don’t know,” Peach answered. “But they must have been important; we’re all here. They’re worth our time, I’m sure of it.”

 

\- - - -

 

Dedede sat rather quietly on his throne, not too sure what to do with himself. Something was up, he knew that much; higher-than-a-lost-balloon up was how ‘up’ this something felt. He just didn’t know _what_ this something that was up actually was, is all.

“What’s Kirby up to? He’s usually on the ball with these things.” he asked. A Waddle Dee immediately scurried over to answer him. The answer wasn’t exactly the one he had wanted. “You don’t know?! Well go and _find_ out then!”

And the Waddle Dee did. It waddled quickly and it waddled far, until it was pushing it’s way through the main door and out into the outside world.

Hopefully he’d find out something good. Dedede couldn’t really handle feeling this down for much longer. It was like his favourite pet had died, or something.

It was awful. It sucked and it was awful.

He had to make do with feeling like his favourite pet had died for at _least_ an hour before the Waddle Dee who had waddled its way outside finally made it’s back through the door. Dedede watched the Waddle Dee close the door behind it before slinking towards the throne.

“Finally!” He would honestly have clapped his hands but an hour to himself hadn’t made him any less sour. “What took ya so long?”

The Waddle Dee didn’t answer. Instead, it looked up from the floor and waved a small envelope in the air. Dedede didn’t say anything as he reached down and took out a small, messily scrawled letter.

“Dear Dedede,” he read. He had a pretty good guess as to who the letter was from. Only one guy addressed him with ‘dear’ and actually meant it.

Then again, Kirby couldn’t really write, so there was that to think about.

“The Waddle Dee said you were feeling very sad, and we’re feeling very sad too. We don’t know why we feel sad, but we know we’re sad because someone special isn’t here anymore. We’re going to light some candles in town for the person we don’t know. We really hope they like it. And if you want to be sad with us instead of sad on your own then you can bring some candles to town too.

We hope you feel better soon,

Kirby.”

For what it was worth, Dedede smiled a little at the letter. He didn’t really care how the little pink menace had managed to write the thing; somehow, having it made him feel a little less empty inside. Good thing too.

Something in him hurt, but it was better than the numb haze that had taken over him. He’d been getting sick of that feeling. It was cold and empty and it just seemed to go on forever.

But then something occurred to him.

“If Kirby’s taking candles to this funeral shindig in town…” A rather brilliant idea struck him. “Then I’ll just need to take more!”

For the first time that day, he jumped up to his feet. He locked his eyes back onto his person Waddle Deelivery guy.

“How many candles we got downstairs?”

The Waddle Dee answered.

“What, really? Wow, we should open a store.” Maybe tomorrow. He didn’t feel like it today. “Grab all of ‘em!”

The Waddle Dee’s eyes widened.

“Yes! Of _course_ I want all of them! You think Kirby’s gonna give this mystery bozo a better send off than me?

The Waddle Dee shook his head.

“Darn straight!” He straitened his hat and pulled up his belt. “I don’t care who this guy was; if he thinks he can make me sad without a _proper_ proper send-off then I’ll yank him back from wherever he’s gone myself!”

The mystery guy _felt_ like a guy, at least. Dedede wasn’t sure why, though. Just a feeling got in the back of his head.

The guy must have been pretty cool if this whole mess managed to make him - the _Great_ Dedede - as long faced as a homeless horse.

“What you waiting around here for?” he asked. The Waddle Dee promptly saluted with a shaky stance. “You’ve all got some major haulin’ to do! Chop _chop_!”

 

\- - - -

 

Ganondorf sat still within his library, pondering the thick concoction of thoughts that had pervaded his mind. Something was within the air, he felt. Sorting foreign and alien. Something from so very far away.

Yet, it was close to his heart. The feeling tugged and pulled at his emotions until he felt himself ready to submit. Though, to his credit, he never did. It would not do to settle for melancholy. It was such a novelty among emotions; empty and sparse, yet strong enough to take hold over a person. If it weren’t so irritating, he would perhaps label it a curiosity.

It was so different to his usually folly of emotions.

It was so _weak_.

Yet, it pushed its way in. The world – no, the _universe_ itself – was assuring that he felt this emotion at this point in time. It was making sure he felt this numbing ache in his heart.

His books had done little to explain the feeling; a sadness for something you never knew. Though, even without a definite source to take his information, there were ideas swirling through the very back of his mind. Like words whispered to him during a sleep he’d long since forgotten.

The warmth in the palm of his hand only convinced him further that he ideas he had formed were to be correct. There wasn’t just a connection to him, but to others as well. Other souls in the world were experiencing this depressive malady.

Two he knew of in particular. There were likely more.

It was, undoubtedly, as if something was gone. Something grand and important. A god of some sort, perhaps. A trickster with a divine control or a creature sacred to the lands. It

He had almost been convinced that this being, whatever it was, was a person. That thought had been quickly cast aside.

This feeling inside him, this inarguable sense of loss and emptiness could not have been caused by some mere mortal passing away.

No, this was something far greater. Some divinity with power, with far-reaching hands and influence. There was a lot of information left to be desired, but of these facts, the Gerudo King was sure.

And, as a Gerudo, he did what needed to be done. He had always been taught to revere the gods, no matter what they controlled or where they held influence. His mothers had done well to teach him that.

The gods are mysterious and profound. There were things to them that mere mortal were never meant to understand. As far from mortal as he could be, there were still beings out there with far more power than him.

As loathe as he was to admit such a fact. But it was that; a fact. Even if you were worth more than the gods, it was worth your time to show respect.

Even if, it just so happens, that you need to favour later. A god against you is never wise, regardless of the circumstances.

With a simple, benign wave of his hand, Ganondorf brought magic upon the candelabra hung from the wall. Three sparks of flame lit the wicks there.

His offering done, Ganondorf removed himself from his books. It would not do well to dwell on this thought. Like all emotions, it was temporary. The grey fatigue would pass and he would soon forget the day even transpired.

It was, at best, a novelty.

Whatever this god did, it’s just duty was finished. Yet life would continue on; Ganondorf was more than sure of that. His world would continue moving.

All the world was a stage and the story was _far_ from over.

He felt himself laugh at the prospect. He opened the door of his library and made his way out, leaving the burning candles to their task.

This almighty being was gone, but the legacy they left behind? Whether this being was responsible for life itself, or for the faintest push of fate, that contribution would live on forever.

And Ganondorf could _feel_ it.

He _understood_ perfectly. He knew what it all meant.

"The best is yet to come."

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not really sure how many people will read this, but that honestly doesn't matter. While some people have created beautiful pieces of art to honour the late Satoru Iwata, this is how I decided to show my gratitude towards him.
> 
> I would, in all honesty, not have had as many great adventures in the past ten years of my life if it wasn't for his involvement. Whether that was through Link, Mario or even a rather well dressed professor, I will be forever grateful to Iwata-San for really bringing gaming into my life.
> 
> ありがとう! Thank you! 
> 
> #ThankYouMrIwata


End file.
